McCarran opens new checkpoints

Mary Manning and Ed Koch

Thursday, July 3, 2003 | 11:15 a.m.

Three new security checkpoints opened quietly at McCarran International Airport Wednesday, just in time for the busy Fourth of July weekend.

Two of the new checkpoints, at the C gates, were created for Southwest Airlines passengers because Southwest is the airport's largest carrier, with 173 flights leaving from McCarran on both Sunday and Monday, airport spokeswoman Deborah Millett said.

But the new C gate checkpoints aren't visible from the current security screening, next to the trams that take passengers to the gates. The new checkpoints are located in the C concourse, before the escalator ride up to the gates. It's a location that can be difficult to get to. Travelers have to walk about 100 yards outside the building to get to the checkpoints, no mean feat in triple digit heat.

"The skycaps are directing people through the parking lot to the old bus plaza," Millett said. "There, we've added the two lanes away from the main terminal, which is about a three-minute walk. It is a tad shorter than the (traditional) walk to the C gates. And it is way faster" to board a plane.

Millett said passengers who cannot make the walk or who want to remain in an air-conditioned building to avoid the weather can still go to C gates through the building, but that likely will mean a longer wait in line.

Roz Santangelo, spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines, which brings in and flies out about 1.1 million passengers a month at McCarran, said she was at the new checkpoints this morning and the responses were mostly favorable, though a number of customers commented on the heat.

"It's really easy to get to," Santangelo said. "We have it well marked with arrows painted on the ground and balloons along the walkway. We've also set up a water stop so that passengers can get some cold water if they need it.

"The convenience is once you get there, you go up the escalator and through the checkpoints and you are at about gate C-23. Otherwise, you leave our ticket counter and you have to walk through the building through security to get to the C gates."

Rob Powers, spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said as long as people have the option of going through the air-conditioned building or using the outdoor-access checkpoints, he applauds the checkpoint additions.

"McCarran has always been proactive whether on the leading edge of technology or in making the airport as convenient as possible," Powers said. "McCarran, in studies, has been found to be one of the most user-friendly airports in the country.

"This is another effort at trying to make passengers' experience at McCarran a more convenient one. I think it is a good idea and it is absolutely good timing" for the Independence Day weekend.

The entrance to the new checkpoint is just below the tram, which Santangelo said provides shade. Also, the path is well-lit for night passengers.

Southwest has 22 flights leaving Sunday and another 20 scheduled to leave Monday, Santangelo said.

Some passengers weren't so thrilled about the logistics of the new checkpoints, however.

"They didn't tell us we had to walk half a mile from where we dropped our luggage," said Elaine Schorb, who was returning home to St. Louis with her husband, Eugene.

Other passengers said the walk in the heat was worth the time saved at the checkpoints.

"I like the fact that the line is moving," Sheila Bass of Florida said Wednesday as she presented her identification to the guard leading to the carry-on baggage screener.

Bass was returning home after a visit to her daughter in Las Vegas.

With the potential for 275,000 visitors in Las Vegas for the three-day Fourth of July weekend, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the airport decided to open the checkpoints early.

"We didn't expect to have them open before July 4," Millett said. "This is a trial run."

At the D gate checkpoints at the tram entrance, airport officials have created a special lane for passengers in wheelchairs, strollers, flight crews with wheel-on luggage and airport employees.

This holiday weekend also brought some different security concerns.

The Federal Aviation Administration has banned fireworks, even sparklers, from flights because they are considered explosives and are a fire hazard. A single offense can bring a $30,000 fine and up to five years in jail, under the Homeland Security Act rules.

Traces of fireworks that have exploded on clothing or luggage could delay flights, airport officials warned.